Distance
by needdl
Summary: "I think you should go."
1. Chapter One

**i do not own** _ **Naruto**_

* * *

"I think you should go." Neji's voice was tired- they had been up talking for hours now, but were both unwilling to go to bed.

"But-"

"Tenten."

She fell quiet, staring at him with such raw emotion in her eyes that his chest echoed dully in response.

"This is such a huge opportunity for you."

"But- _five months_."

"I know." Neji pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. "But it's not as though we won't be in contact. And I can come visit you a few times."

"Yeah." She clung to him tightly, hands gripping his shirt in clenched fists. "I'm going to miss you like crazy."

"I'll miss you too. But you're really going to love the work that you're doing."

"Mm." If possible, she held him even tighter. "Still gonna miss you."

"You won't leave for another three months. We have some time before we part."

"' _Before we part_.' You're very dramatic, my love."

"And _you're_ very good at taking the tension out of a situation. Let's go to bed."

Tenten used her grip around his neck and shoulders as leverage to raise her legs and wrap them around his waist. "Only if you carry me."

"Fine." Neji hooked his hands underneath her thighs and turned them around to walk towards the bed. "Don't get used to this. You have perfectly fine legs."

" _You_ certainly seem to think so."

Neji stopped in the middle of the room, thrown off by the remark. "Pardon?"

He could feel Tenten smirk against his neck. "Don't to deny it, you ogler. Every time I wear tights I'm twenty minutes late to work because you get all handsy."

Neji had a brief moment to recollect flashes of tanned skin through sheer black fabric, and realized somewhat grumpily that he couldn't even deny her statement.

* * *

Tenten left for China in February.

They spent their last evening together in their apartment, cooking dinner together and eating it in front of the fireplace. They were both unusually attached to one another- Tenten wound up curled in Neji's lap, arms around his neck and shoulders as they rested their foreheads together and conversed in low voices.

They mostly ignored the meal they had cooked, although dessert- they had planned on having chocolate fondue- was… used, if not for the purpose they had initially intended.

Neji brought Tenten to the airport the next morning. They restrained themselves from causing too much of a scene, just embraced one another for a minute and separated with a short but warm kiss.

"I'll text when I land, then again at the hotel," Tenten told him. Her eyes were glimmering, but true to Tenten, she did not cry. Neji tenderly ran his thumb along her cheek.

"I love you," he told her, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you too," she whispered. She leaned up and kissed him again, very softly, before stepping away from him and grabbing her suitcase.

"I'll miss you," she said. Neji nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets and clenching them into fists.

She gave him one last smile and turned towards the terminal, a white-knuckled grip on the handle of her suitcase. Neji watched her go until she disappeared in the crowd.

* * *

It certainly wasn't easy adjusting to their long distance relationship- the first two weeks Tenten was gone, Neji felt a yawning chasm in his life where she normally filled it.

They quickly set a routine- Tenten called or video called him every night after she was done with her work from the day- and from her elated gushing over the phone, it was work that she loved.

They texted each other constantly, with the understanding that they wouldn't always be able to respond immediately- the time difference between Konoha and Beijing wasn't too difficult, but Neji's days operated a few hours ahead of Tenten.

Once a week, they'd set up a Skype date and talk for hours at a time.

(Well, sometimes they did things… _other_ than talk.)

There were the few nights when one of them had a difficult day and wasn't in the mood for a long conversation, or had something occupying their time. Those nights, they'd settle with a simple text exchange before saying goodnight.

Gradually, the distance between them felt more normal- Neji still missed his partner, of course, very much- but he looked forward to talking to her at the end of the day. At one point he realized that there had been a large uptick in the frequency that Lee invited him out, and strongly suspected a collusion between him and Tenten to keep Neji socialized.

He had to admit that it was working- he and Lee either sparred in the dojo or got drinks together about once a week, which was certainly more than they had previously.

Still, Neji was looking forward to March, when he would be visiting Tenten for a long weekend in Beijing and celebrating her belated birthday.

The weekend after Tenten's birthday, he took a cab to the airport at about 5:00 AM. His initial flight out was delayed, so he sent Tenten a quick text and settled into a seat to read his book.

He had just absorbed himself in the chapter when Tenten texted him back several sad-face emojis in a row, then sent a quick follow up text.

' _will watch flight info online and meet up w u at airport when u land. i'm excited! ❤️❤️❤️'_

Neji smiled to himself and tucked his phone back into his pocket.

* * *

Naturally, Neji was in first class for his flight- it was a luxury he had grown up with, and he liked it far too much to give it up. His first and only time flying economy class- with Tenten, of course- hadn't been terrible, but he was too accustomed to first class and had actively avoided economy class ever since.

It may or may not have been a minor point of contention between himself and Tenten- she disliked spending money when there was a cheaper option available, and would pointedly roll her eyes at him when she thought he was being frivolous. He would retort that just because something was less expensive didn't mean it was a better choice. Tenten tended to buy things that broke down after a very short period of time, and constantly had to replace them. All in all, she was spending just as much, if not more than him on a product.

It was one of the things they fought about most, but once they'd moved in together it had settled over somewhat. Even if their apartment's rent was more than the rent at Tenten's old place, splitting it between their two incomes actually meant she was paying less than she had before, and could actually invest in her necessities.

(Neji had taken her to the store where his family bought most of their winter clothes, and Tenten had actually expressed shock over how warm her coat was. It gave Neji some mixed feelings- she definitely could have afforded warmer coats in the past, and he hated that she had just let herself be that cold for the sake of saving money.)

But still- Neji indulged and traveled almost exclusively in first class. (If Tenten was with him, they'd fly business class; a grudging compromise between them.)

Neji tried to do some work on the flight, but he was too distracted to get much done. He was mostly thinking about Tenten.

He hadn't seen her in almost three weeks, and was eagerly anticipating seeing each other face-to-face again. He knew Tenten had some things she wanted to do with him in the city, and they'd likely spend the second and third days of their time together spending time with Tenten's group of fellow students, who by all accounts she was becoming close with. But their first day reunited…

The flight attendant handed Neji his drink, stirring him from his (admittedly slightly risque) thoughts. He took it with a nod of thanks and turned his attention to look out the window.

Four hours, then he'd finally see her again.

* * *

Tenten chewed her lip in anticipation, eyes fixed to the entrance of the baggage claim area. Neji's delayed flight had thrown her off a little. She'd been a bundle of nerves all week, unable to focus on her work and even getting a few inquiries from her colleagues about her behavior.

They'd all smirked a little bit when she told them her boyfriend was coming to visit her- apparently, she talked about Neji more than she realized. She'd left the night before amid wolf-whistles, knowing looks, and one loud, " _Enjoy_ your weekend!"

And she was planning to, but first her boyfriend needed to arrive.

A flood of people came through the doors, and Tenten perked up eagerly only to sulk in disappointment when it became clear that Neji wasn't among them. His flight had landed about half an hour ago, he should be at the baggage claim any second-

A few stragglers from the last crowd entered, but still no sign of Neji. Tenten was tempted to go through and find him herself.

Her phone buzzed, and she checked it hastily in case it was from Neji. It was just an email notification- once upon a time, Ino had nagged Tenten into signing up for a clothing store's membership program, and now she was constantly getting spam.

Scrunching up her nose in vexation, Tenten tapped her way through unsubscribing from the store. She never used the discounts anyway; there really wasn't a point to it anymore. Task complete, she put her phone back in her pocket and glanced back up at the entrance.

Her heart stopped in her throat. In the minute she'd been distracted, Neji had entered, and he was walking towards her now with his eyes fixed to her face.

For a few seconds, Tenten couldn't get her feet to move at all.

Logically, she knew his appearance hadn't changed- she had video called him two days ago, after all, and he looked much the same as he had then.

But something about seeing Neji in person- for the first time in _three weeks_ \- made her want to cradle his face in her hands and memorize its nuances.

(He was _so handsome_ \- how did she not fully remember that?)

After those first few seconds spent drinking in the sight of him, Tenten lurched into movement. She didn't quite run to him, but they reached one another with a flurry of movement that ended with Tenten clinging desperately to Neji's shoulders as he leaned her back and kissed her with such urgency that she was left gasping for air.

He pulled back slightly and shifted her so she was upright again, pressing a few slower, more controlled kisses to her lips. Her head was swimming, but she did her best to reciprocate, feeling rather like one of the trembling maidens on the covers of the books Sakura pretended not to read.

Neji parted from her and rested his forehead against her own, eyes staring into hers.

"Hi," Tenten whispered, biting her lip in an effort to contain the wide grin stretching across her face.

"Hi," he echoed. He kissed her again, very softly, before finally stepping away and slipping his hand into hers. They stood and grinned at each other like idiots for a minute, before remembering the crowd around them and the luggage that still needed to be collected.

They were getting a few fish-eyed looks from the people around them, but as Tenten tucked herself against Neji's side while he grabbed his luggage, she realized that she definitely didn't care.

* * *

Tenten drove them back from the airport in a colleague's borrowed car, filling up the air with excited chatter about her work, and showing him around, and how happy she was to see him.

He couldn't have gotten a word in edgewise if he'd tried- Tenten still maintained that she didn't talk as much as, say, Naruto or Ino, but once she got started on something, it was hard to stop her.

Not that Neji wanted to. He was, quite frankly, starstruck at the sight of her, and was still drinking in the fact that he was back in her presence. He sat quietly in the passenger's side of the car and watched her speak, letting her words wash over him and feeling the gap in his life slowly fill up again.

He must have been gazing at her like a man starved, because every time she glanced over at him she'd quickly dart her face away again, a flush slowly rising on her face.

They reached the building where Tenten was staying and parked in the alloted spot, then sat in the car and kissed one another for a good half an hour.

Neji was a little embarrassed when he pulled apart from Tenten- for a brief moment, he needed to catch his breath- and realized how much time had passed since they had arrived. The sight of Tenten's face easily persuaded him to lean over again, her mouth a puckered red and her hair a tousled mess from where he had been cupping her head. She also had such a languid, wanton look on her face that Neji really had no choice but to swoop back in and tease a moan from her throat.

They finally got out of the car- both flushed red and feeling a little light-headed- and went up the stairs and towards Tenten's apartment. They committed to some level of decorum once they entered the building and kept themselves the slightest bit apart. Tenten had fallen rather quiet, but based off the expression on her face- biting her lip, a dark flush, brows just the slightest bit cinched- she was filled with anticipation.

They entered the apartment quietly, and stopped a few feet into the foyer. Tenten seemed a little awkward now, as if she hadn't planned for what they'd do after they got back to her place.

Fortunately, Neji had some ideas.

He set his bags down carelessly and snagged Tenten by the waist, stepping closer and ducking his head down to mouth at her pulse. She inhaled sharply, throwing one hand over his shoulders and wrapping her other arm around him to grip the fabric covering his mid-back.

They spent several more minutes like that, kissing rather desperately and with quite a bit of tongue. Finally, Tenten pulled away with a gasp.

"O-oh-" She panted against his shoulder for a minute, her grip slowly easing where her hand had twined itself into his hair. Sensing a shift in their affection, Neji relaxed his own stance so he was cradling her close to him, slowly rubbing her back.

There was less tension between them now, replaced by tenderness and- fulfillment. After a moment, Tenten lifted her head again and pressed her lips very gently against his.

They kissed sweetly for a minute or two, then Neji slowly eased back. "Give me the tour?"

"Sure," Tenten said, somewhat breathlessly. She grabbed his larger suitcase and dragged it behind her as she went further into the apartment. Neji grabbed his other bag and followed her into the kitchen silently.

It was small but well furnished, with surprisingly new-looking countertops. Neji could see another room and a hallway leading off from where he was, but the door was partially closed and the lights dimmed, making the contents difficult to make out.

The kitchen flowed into the sitting area, which held a plush-looking sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf, and the TV on the armoire. There was also a side table with a lamp and a few knickknacks, as well as a shelf holding a few plants and a couple of picture frames.

He couldn't see them perfectly, but one of the pictures was definitely a picture of them from Temari's birthday party a few years ago, both dressed nicely and looking- well, Tenten looked beautiful, Neji supposed he had looked handsome.

It was towards the end of the evening, and they'd both had a few drinks in them when Sakura had snapped the picture. They were seated at the table and Tenten was leaning into Neji's side, head propped up on one hand with the other tucked into the crook of her elbow. Neji was sitting with one arm over the back of her chair and the other resting on the table. Sakura had told them to "say cheese!" before she took the photo, and in an unusually public display of affection Neji had pressed his lips to Tenten's temple before turning to face the camera.

Sakura had photographed the moment Tenten had understood his actions, and so the picture showed her smiling impossibly affectionately up at Neji as he in turn smiled warmly up at the camera.

Lee had said, once he saw the picture, that Tenten had "heart eyes", which Neji didn't really understand but made Tenten flush and get all squeaky.

It was one of his favorite photos of them, and it filled him with fondness that Tenten seemingly liked it so much as well.

"Well, this is the kitchen-" Tenten gestured around them rather vaguely- "then the sitting area, and through there is the office slash laundry room, and then that hallway leads to the bathroom and bedroom. Oh, I cleared out some space for your stuff, I know you're only here for four days but I know how you like to organize your things…"

Neji hummed in agreement.

"Speaking of which, let's go have sex."

Neji was mid-agreement hum when he realized what she said, and choked off rather abruptly.

Tenten snorted. "Dork. But also, I'm serious. I put on silk sheets and everything."

"Tenten, it is-" He paused and checked her watch. "A little after 1:00."

"I've always found that to be a particularly sexy time of day…"

"It's practically lunchtime."

"Mmm. And I know what _I_ want to eat."

Neji's responding flush made Tenten laugh and kiss his cheek. Fondly, she told him, "C'mon, babe. I want to stretch you out and admire you."

Neji's flush made its way down his neck and over his ears, but it certainly didn't stop him from following Tenten into the bedroom.

* * *

Tenten woke up the next morning with sun streaming in through the window and Neji's mouth on her clit.

She threw her head back into her pillow and let out a hiss, her hands flying up to twine into the hair on Neji's head and _pull_. He responded in kind, sucking at tender skin and squeezing her hips _hard_ in his hands.

She came undone almost embarrassingly quickly- but they'd been up all night after an entire month spent apart, so she was admittedly a little _tender_ and her stamina was lower.

But Neji was trying his damndest to increase it as much as he could in a single week. And though at the moment Tenten wasn't able to walk without her knees wobbling, she certainly was enjoying herself immensely.

Neji pulled away from her, but she didn't dare to look at him- she just knew he'd be licking at his lips and looking insufferably smug.

After a moment of silence, he said amicably, "Good morning."

"Yeah. Uh, hi."

Neji's hands pulled away from her thighs, and a few moments later he was shifting himself up so he was propped over her on his elbows. His hair fell over his shoulders in a tousled mess, and Tenten was a little regretful she hadn't woken up in time to see it tangled across his shirtless back- one of her favorite sights in the world, and one she had been badly missing in the past month.

But then again, she thought to herself as Neji dipped his head to thoroughly kiss her breathless, this was nice too.

Neji pulled away from her and shifted so he laid on the bed next to her, one arm draped over her waist. He tucked his head back against her neck and collarbone, then, after a moment of consideration, grazed her warm skin with his teeth.

Tenten wiggled at the sensation. "Neji-"

"I meant to ask you last night," he interrupted with a murmur (and normally she'd be irritated, because she _hated_ it when people interrupted her, and when Neji did it she disliked it even more- but right now she was still riding the high of her pleasant awakening, and Neji smelled quite good, and it was just post-coital talk, nothing important, so she'd let it slide) "This necklace-" he reached to hook his fingers under the delicate gold chain that was tumbling down her neck and over the tops of her breasts. "You didn't have this when you first left, did you? I don't recognize it."

 _Oh_. Tenten flushed a little, because that was true, and the way she had gotten it was one of the most embarrassingly sentimental, lovelorn, sappy things she'd ever done.

"Uh-" her mind stuttered for excuses. "It's, uh-"

Neji waited patiently, running his fingers over the chain (and coincidentally, her skin). He wasn't looking at her face at all, which made it easier for her to blurt out, "Okay, you can't laugh."

His fingers never ceased stroking her skin. "All right."

"Well-" _Ugh_ , this was so cheesy. Tenten kept her gaze on the ceiling, refusing to look at Neji. No way would she be able to get it out if she had to actually look at him. "It was the first couple of weeks after I had left Konoha, and- I mean, you remember what it was like, I missed you a lot-"

The movement of Neji's fingers slowed minutely, and Tenten got the impression he was listening very intently. "And- well- I was out with a few colleagues just touring around, and a few of us wanted to check out some shops and we went into this little jewelry shop and I just- I saw it, and I was thinking of you, and then I bought it." She glared defiantly at the ceiling.

Neji's hands stopped moving completely, and after a moment he said, "I missed you too, Tenten but I still don't see how the necklace has anything to do with that."

Tenten rolled her eyes at the brusqueness of his statement, but reached up and pushed his hand away to grab the necklace and show him the tiny, miniscule capital _N_ that dangled off the delicate chain.

Neji lifted his head from her neck to look at it closer. "That's- an 'N'? Why..."

Tenten waited for his genius brain to kick in.

Neji paused, then asked haltingly, "Is that… is it… does the 'N'..."

Tenten's cheeks burned, and she muttered, "It's really not too difficult of a connection, _Nnnneji._ " The emphasis was a tad obvious, but she wanted to get the conversation over with.

"I- I see." Neji's hand, which he had settled over her hip when she moved it, minutely tightened its grip. In the next few seconds he flipped them both over so Tenten was lying haphazardly under him while he buried his face in the space between her neck and shoulder, holding her in his embrace so tightly it was almost painful.

Tenten blinked a few times, a little startled at the reaction. Cautiously, she raised a hand to smooth down the strands of hair at the base of his neck. "Neji?"

If possible, he held her even closer. After a moment he lifted his head and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple, then abruptly got up and walked out of the room without a word.

Tenten squinted after him. "Neji? You okay?" He'd had only his briefs on, so he definitely wasn't planning on just walking out of the apartment.

He came sweeping back in a minute later and sat back down on the bed, then leaned over her and set something down on her stomach.

"Marry me."

Tenten's head, which she had been craning awkwardly to see what he had brought her, snapped back up. There wasn't a trace amount of anything other than seriousness in his expression- but then, she hadn't expected there to be anything else.

"Huh," she said, grabbing what she now realized was a small velvet box off of her stomach and popping it open. The ring wasn't extravagant- just a simple band of platinum with diamonds, rubies, and aquamarines studded into it.

(Keyword being _extravagant-_ that's not to say it wasn't expensive.)

"I will." Tenten said absently, picking the ring out of the box. "Marry you, I mean," she clarified, sliding it onto her ring finger and giving an experimental wiggle. It didn't have any parts that would stick out and catch on anything, which she appreciated.

"We should have a longer engagement, though- maybe a year and a half? That way I can finish up in China, then we'll have time to plan things out- I'm sure your family has a lot of traditions, so we'll have to haggle that out with them..."

She glanced up at Neji for the first time since she'd put the ring on. He was staring at her ring finger, seemingly transfixed, looking so open and vulnerable that her heart clenched.

"Hey." Tenten leaned over and placed her left hand over his. He jerked his head up to meet her gaze, and she grinned at him.

"We're engaged."

Slowly, he grinned back, looking both triumphant and boyishly sheepish. "We're engaged." He turned his hand over to lace their fingers together, then brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.

Tenten could only stand the affection for a few seconds before she had to jump up and get away from him to hide her flush. "You want breakfast?"

She peeked at Neji out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her with his head tilted to the side, that same exultant smile tugging in his lips.

"If you're making it dressed like that, definitely."

Tenten paused and glanced down at her fully nude figure, then shrugged and continued towards the kitchen. "Fine, but I'm going to wear an apron for protective purposes."

"Even better." She could hear him shuffle around on the bed, presumably swinging his legs over and standing up.

Three steps out of the bedroom, Tenten paused and stared at the contents of Neji's suitcase where they were scattered across the floor. "Uh-"

"Ah." Neji placed a hand on her waist and looked over her shoulder at the mess. "I was in a hurry to get the ring. I'll put my things away while you make breakfast." He paused for a second, then thoughtfully dropped his head down and pressed a kiss to her neck.

The slightest shiver went up Tenten's spine. "That eager to get me affianced, huh?"

"You have no idea." Neji stepped back from her and knelt in front of his luggage. "I started ring shopping after our six-month anniversary."

Tenten's foot caught itself over the air, and she stumbled. "What?"

Neji just smirked up at her. "It was a good date."

"I mean-" Tenten thought back to the sight of her office filled with flowers in the morning, followed by a delivery of her favorite lunch, and Neji picking her up at a little after five to take her to dinner at a _very_ nice restaurant. (Plus, well, they'd gone back to his place- to exchange gifts, among… other things.)

It _was_ a good date, but it wasn't as if it had so spectacular that she was suddenly irresistible to Neji- after all, he'd informed her a few weeks prior to their anniversary that he loved her.

(She was on her way out of her apartment that morning, already running a few minutes late because _someone_ didn't want to let her out of their shower. Neji didn't have to leave for work until later, and was making a point of walking around clad only in a towel, his wet hair dripping some very distracting trails of water down his chest. Tenten had paused to kiss him goodbye, and after he pulled away he told her, "You should know that I love you."

"'Kay," she replied, and left, clicking the door shut behind her to make sure it latched.

She was halfway down the stairs before she realized what he said.)

Tenten frowned at Neji in contemplation. "What was so significant about our anniversary? It was a nice night, but it wasn't super unusual for us."

Neji's attention was suddenly diverted with laser-like intensity to neatly folding a sweater. "Hn."

Tenten let out a little sputter, half amused and half offended. She hadn't heard him say that in a while.

"Excuse you-"

"It was the first time you'd spent the night at my home." Neji's sweater was _extremely_ folded. "It just… made me realize… that I wanted you in my life for as long as you would have me in yours."

 _Ugh, Neji_. Every once in a while, he'd turn a phrase that made her heart go pitter-pat in her chest. And he always meant them so _earnestly_ \- Tenten knew that her presence in Neji's life had lightened it considerably, but he was still one of the most serious people she knew. But it meant that everything he did, he committed himself to fully. Romance included.

She didn't tell Neji this, of course. Tenten got all flushed and squirmy when Neji's intense affection was directed at her for too long.

Instead she leaned over and patted his head. "Save it for the vows, babe." She turned around and started to walk into the kitchen, only to let out a shriek as Neji suddenly looped his arms under her ass and sort of tackle-dropped her on the ground.

"'Save it for the vows'," he muttered, hooking one of her thighs around his waist. He laced her left hand with his right and pinned it to the ground near her head. "You're ridiculous."

Tenten grinned up at him. "I'm one-hundred percent original, bay-beeee."

Neji very effectively used his mouth to shut her up.


	2. Chapter Two

**surpriiiiise it's a second chapter!**

 **also i'm updating so soon after my last story! w o w**

 **this modern au is reaching its close, btw. I think I have one(? maybe 2 i can't remember) story left that will take place before anything else in the sequence.  
**

* * *

The first love letter arrived in April.

Neji had just arrived back at their apartment after work- he still called it 'theirs' inside his mind, even though Tenten hadn't set foot in it in almost three months- and paused to grab the mail before heading up the steps.

He set it on the table to sort through later, then brought his briefcase into their makeshift office- they'd found that the room was just barely large enough to hold two desks and still be comfortable, so Tenten had bought a desk and now she worked with him in the office instead of scattering her papers all across the dining table like she'd done in the past.

The glint of metal around his finger caught his eye as he put his briefcase on his desk, and he paused, regarding it with soft eyes. After the first day when they initially got engaged, they'd been out sightseeing together and Tenten had ducked into that same little shop where she'd gotten her necklace and had the inner band of a platinum ring engraved with ' _Tenten'_ in a mock-up of her own handwriting.

She had done it secretly, and then presented it to him once they were back at her apartment, telling him, "There! Now I put a ring on it too."

He'd been so overcome with indescribable emotion that the only thing he could think of to do was slide the ring on and then walk into the bathroom and hide for five minutes, which fortunately had amused Tenten rather than hurting her feelings.

Neji wore the ring almost constantly now, and every so often it would catch his eye and he'd be filled with that warm, indescribable feeling again. (He never really assumed that Tenten would get _him_ an engagement ring as well, and the fact that'd she made it so thoughtful and personal made him _ache_ to have her at his side once more.)

After dropping off his briefcase and changing into more casual wear- which meant he took off his suit coat and loosened his tie slightly, because that was casual enough, thank you- he pulled out the newspaper he hadn't finished that morning, and settled down for a pleasant evening of tea and crosswords.

(Mostly pleasant, at least- he missed Tenten teasing him for being a crotchety old man who got grumpy if he didn't finish the crossword every day, and looking up and seeing her playing Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy- or even Minecraft, sometimes. Neji unwound with putting words in organized boxes, Tenten unwound by making characters do stupid things in video games.)

The mail sat, unopened and unread in the organizer- well, the bills and important-looking mail were opened and filed away in the proper places- until that weekend, when he finally opened the "fun" mail. Usually Tenten opened all the "fun" mail, which is why he tended to forget about it.

Most of it was trivial things, magazines or advertisements, but he got to the bottom of the stack and paused over a thicker envelope with their address hand-written on the front.

He used his letter opener- a joke, 'you're an old man' gift from Tenten that had been very useful and had backfired on her completely- to slice through the seam, and as he pulled the contents out from the envelope he caught a whiff of a pleasant, familiar scent.

 _How odd_. He unfolded the thick, seemingly high-quality paper and his heart leapt as he recognized Tenten's chicken-scratch writing.

 _Hey babe!_

 _I found this paper at a store the other day and I thought it was cute- look at the little illustrations on it!_ (She had drawn an arrow pointing to a illustration of a cartoon elephant, and had written a caption underneath it declaring it 'so cute!') _I wanted to use it for something and I'm literally thinking about you all the time so why the hell not._

 _Although to be fair I tell you a lot about what's going on in my life pretty much every day over text or whatever so I'm really not sure how much information I can put on here that you don't already know._

 _Uhhhhhhhhhh sup bitch you're looking hawt 2day._

(He grinned and shook his head a little in fond exasperation.)

 _Anyway, your uncle left me a voicemail the other day- yeah, it was weird- and formally congratulated me on our engagement (! engagement!). I'm still really bad at reading his tone without seeing his facial expressions, but he seemed genuine? Probably. Anyways do you think I should call him back to thank him, or is it well enough to leave as is? It seemed like a cut-and-dry kind of deal but I don't want to be rude._

 _Speaking of which, fiance_ (here she had drawn several hearts), _how do we want to go about planning this out? I'm headed back to Konoha in mid-June, so we can really start hashing it out then, but if there's anything that can be decided now we could get a head start?_

 _Sometimes I can't believe we're actually going to get married, but I also feel like I've known it would happen ever since we moved in together. You don't do things by halves, my love._

(Neji's heart fluttered at the endearment.)

 _You know what I was thinking about the other day? That time we went to that beach in Suna with the rest of our friends and it was the first time you'd seen me in a bikini since we were like 17 and then you basically dragged me off to have sex in our hotel room instead of actually swimming. Ino kept making fun of me but also I got laid pretty consistently that week so I wasn't complaining._

 _Also, one of the days we were there I convinced you to ditch everyone with me to go to a private beach and wear a speedo so THAT was pretty damn nice._

 _You make me very happy, Neji, did you know that? I hope you do; I try to make it apparent._

 _I know you don't think of yourself this way, but you're kind and thoughtful and sweet and have such a mean sense of humor that when you choose to use it it's positively delightful. You're so serious about everything, even little things like keeping paper clips organized. It's the most endearing thing and I adore you, Neji, I really do._

 _This took a sappier turn. Not what I had in mind when I first started writing this letter to you, but the idea of writing you love letters is really nice, actually._

 _(It's much easier to confess my deep and mushy feelings to you when we're not face-to-face, lol.)_

 _I miss you._

 _I miss being with you in our apartment, and just looking up and seeing you. I miss surprising you at work with lunch. I miss cooking with you. I miss you reading over all my essays to help me edit them. I miss taking that one weekend a month and spending a whole day making love. I miss waking up with you in the mornings, and going to bed together at night._

 _I miss you making me feel better after a crappy day, just by letting me rant to you about it and then kissing my hand. I miss shopping for groceries with you. I miss arguing with you over whose turn it is to unclog the shower drain. I miss coming home to you._

 _Anyway._

 _I love you, Neji. Please don't ever mention to me that I wrote you a love letter because I will crumble up and die of embarrassment and then you'll be out a whole fiancee._

 _Love,_

 _Tenten ️_

 _P.S. I sprayed this paper with some of my perfume (it felt appropriate) so hopefully some of the smell is still there when you open this. If not, uhhh sorry I guess._

Neji reached the end of the letter and continued staring at it blankly, his heart thudding loudly in his chest. After a minute, he read it again, and again, and again, the smile on his face growing wider and more tender each time.

He traced his fingers over the print on the page, over the tiny doodled hearts in the margins, over the spot where she'd made a typo and crossed out the mistake a dozen times, leaving an inky blob on the page.

 _I miss you too,_ he thought across the space between them, to where he imagined Tenten gleefully studying an artifact over a desk in the National Museum of China. _I love you too._

He carefully folded up the letter and tucked it away in a drawer in his desk.

* * *

The next letter came a few weeks later. Per Tenten's request, Neji hadn't brought up the letter at all to her, though he'd read it dozens of times in the weeks since he'd received it.

This time he recognized the writing on the envelope and hastened to open it, unsealing it eagerly but carefully. He unfolded the paper tucked neatly inside and a few small squares of paper contained within the letter fluttered onto the table top.

He picked one up to see what it was and sat down sharply onto the chair, his breath escaping him in a sharp exhale.

It was a picture of Tenten, but it was certainly more risque than any picture he'd seen of her. It was framed from her nose to just above her waist, with her lips- parted just the slightest amount, hinting at teeth and tongue- a painted crimson and her hair down and tumbling over her freckled shoulders and the tops of her breasts- which were very easy to see in the low cut, not-quite-sheer black lingerie she was wearing.

Neji's mouth was very dry.

He flipped to the next picture. This time it was an image of Tenten's reflection framed in the mirror, again from her lips down but this time with the rest of her body as well. She was sprawled back against red satin sheets in the bed, lying with her back arched and legs lifted sensuously in the air. She was wearing the rest of the lingerie set to match her brassiere, with silky-looking panties and stockings with bows draped over her thighs.

Her head was turned to face the mirror as she took the picture with the clunky polaroid she'd purchased for her trip, teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

(It was completely unfair that she would send these to him when they weren't due to Skype-sex for another four days.)

The final picture was a simple shot of Tenten's face, grinning at the camera and looking exuberant and triumphant. There was an almost childlike smugness to her grin, and the contradiction between her self-satisfaction and the erotic images she'd given him was Tenten to her essence.

(She also was sporting a smokey eye to go along with her ruby lips, and looked devastating.)

Neji considered the pictures for a few more minutes (about fifteen, if he were being completely honest) before finally straightening out the actual letter Tenten had sent to read it.

 _Hey, lover,_

 _Guess where I shopped this weekend?_

 _Just kidding because it was like a little stand-alone shop and doesn't have any other stores, but yeah I got_ _so __much __lingerie_ _. I'm excited for you to see me in it face-to-face._

 _Speaking of, I think we should schedule a trip for me to come back to Konoha for a few days, so that way I can see not only you but have a night out with some of our friends too? Lee has texted me literally every single day since I've been gone. To be fair you have too but that's different._

 _Anyway, I never send you intimate photos because I guess the concept of having those on your phone makes you uncomfortable (I think? You never really explained that to me) but I really, really wanted to this time around. Then I remembered that I write love letters to you now (apparently) and I figured I could just throw them in with that._

 _Cyber sex isn't doing it for me anymore, babe. I want your hands on me, working me over the edge. I want you tasting my skin. I want my hair wrapped around your fist as you pound into me from behind. I want you to fuck me until the only name I can remember is yours._

 _I love you and I love your penis ️3_

 _Yours forever, Tenten_

Neji's cheeks burned, and he had to take a minute to compose himself. This letter was certainly… different from the first one Tenten had sent.

He read through it once more, glancing between the pictures and the letter. Each look at the pictures- especially the one of Tenten draped suggestively across the bed- made his blush burn ever darker.

After a few more minutes spent sitting and staring and blushing and looking away, then staring again and starting the whole process over, Neji brought the letter into the office to out it away with the first one, then- after a moment of hesitation- tucked the pictures discreetly between the sheets of paper and out of sight- but far from out of mind.

* * *

More letters came eventually, but not before a surprise visit from Tenten herself. They had been coordinating plans for her to come back for a few days to visit both Neji and their friends, but nothing had been set in stone yet.

Which is why it was such a shock on a random Thursday evening in May, after Neji had spent the day blearily working from home with a bad cold, when the front door busted open and Tenten all but fell into his arms.

He barely managed to catch her, both from the shock of seeing her there and from his general illness-based fatigue. "... _Tenten?"_

"I _hate_ it when you're sick," she muttered into his shoulder, cuddling so hard into his chest it almost hurt. "You deserve to feel healthy and good and not crappy forever."

"How… what..." Neji could hardly even think- and he had already been feeling that way _before_ Tenten's arrival, when he was just struggling through a cold. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh- um, right." Her awkward reaction made a spark of anticipation- dulled from his cold- slowly creep down his spine from the base of his neck to the small of his back. Tenten only ever reacted that way when she'd done something that she thought of as embarrassingly sappy and sentimental, which he himself inevitably found crushingly romantic and wonderful.

Tenten remained hopefully quiet for a few moments, seemingly waiting to see if he'd let her out of answering the question, then groaned and pressed her face flat against his chest. "You texted me yesterday and mentioned you weren't feeling great, then when you called your voice was kind of hoarse, and _then_ you texted this morning and said you were working from home with a bad cold, and I really hated the idea of you just wallowing around all day by yourself while you're sick- so I'm here till Sunday."

Neji felt his heart rate pick up. "If I wasn't so sick, I'd kiss you for an hour straight." He mumbled into her hair.

"Thanks, love. If you weren't so sick I'd let you." They paused for a moment and held each other.

Neji ruined the moment by turning away and coughing hoarsely into the crook of his arm, then standing rigidly still with his eyes clenched shut as a wave of pain shot through his chest.

Instantly, Tenten went from tender lover to panicking fiancee. "Neji! Oh my god!"

He paused in his coughing fit for a few moments and said hoarsely, "I'm fine."

"No, I am _not_ accepting that as an answer. Go lie down, I bet you've been working all day…" She hustled him into their bedroom and onto the bed, fussing over him a little as he settled down.

She had never done anything quite like this before when he was sick, and he had to admit he found it… nice. (He felt important and pampered, and that coupled with the fact that he hadn't actually seen Tenten in a month made it all the more significant).

Tenten briskly closed the curtains, pressed several kisses to his forehead- which made him fight back both an eye roll and a smile- then marched out the door into the hallway, shutting off the lights behind her.

Neji could hear her soft steps heading towards the kitchen and idly wondered what she was up to as he drifted off.

* * *

He awoke an insurmountable amount of time later to what may have been a delicious smell (his sinuses were pretty much useless) and the sound of Tenten softly clanking away in the kitchen, sometimes singing along with the radio.

He didn't make any efforts to get up, instead laying stock-still and listening to her. Her sudden presence was finally starting to sink in. She had dropped absolutely everything- work, her classes, her plans for the weekend- and took a six-hour long trip just to come take care of him while he was sick.

 _She must really love me,_ he thought sleepily to himself. The thought made happiness bubble up inside him, and he closed his eyes to savor the feeling.

* * *

Tenten gently woke him what felt like seconds later, cupping his jaw in her hand and running her thumb over his cheekbone. He blinked up at her, slightly disoriented, and she gave him a soft smile and leaned down to press a tender, lingering kiss to his other cheek.

"I made chicken herbal soup," she told him quietly. Neji wound his arm around her waist and tugged her a little closer, pressing his forehead against her cheek for a few moments before starting to get out of bed.

She shoved one hand against his chest and easily brought him back down. "No, I set up a tray so you can eat in here." His gaze drifted past her shoulder at the two trays balanced on the bedside table, presumably one for both of them.

He tried to sit up, but Tenten scowled at him and pressed down even harder. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Can I sit up to eat it?"

Rather than admitting her mistake, she sniffed haughtily and said, "I _suppose."_

Neji sat up and she settled the tray over him. She'd prepared him a simple meal of soup and water then fixed the same for herself, along with some bread and a beer (because of course.)

"You want any bread?" She asked him, settling down on her side of the bed with her tray.

(Seeing her there again, after so long without her sleeping at his side, brought together something inside Neji that had been dulled and empty.)

"No thank you," he murmured to her inquiry, picking up his spoon and slowly beginning to eat. She mirrored him, and they were quiet for a few moments as they ate together.

"How is it?" Tenten asked, tearing off a chunk of bread and popping it into her mouth.

"Excellent, I assume," he told her. "I can't taste very well right now."

She snorted. "Well then, please imagine the taste."

"Of course, dearest."

Tenten hid her smile at the endearment with a sip of beer.

* * *

Once Neji had woken up a little more they started actually talking, filling in the empty spaces in their connection that the distance between them had created.

It was so easy, slipping back into the quiet back-and-forth that they shared, sometimes teasing, sometimes serious, sometimes inconsequential. (Sometimes almost menial- not to them, never between the two of them- but to vocal onlookers such as Ino Yamanaka and Naruto Uzumaki, the two of them had the most boring, un-romantic, not couple-y conversations _ever_ , pretty much all the time.)

After they'd eaten dinner (and Tenten had brought in some more tissues for Neji's runny sinuses) they put on one of their TV shows and cuddled up with one another against the headboard, with Neji sinking farther and farther against the warm slope of Tenten's shoulder. Eventually she moved so she was fully behind him, his back against her front and his head resting on her collarbone.

Perhaps if he had been feeling healthier he may have indulged in the soft press of her breasts against his shoulder blades, but as he was now he simply registered the sensation before resting his head back and focusing once more on the television.

It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep once more.

Tenten gently stroked her fingers through Neji's hair, starting at his temple and working her way through the silken strands- even while he was sick, it was soft and pleasant. Every few minutes she would drop a kiss to his head, feeling almost unbearably tender at his weakened state.

(It had surprised her a little, that unsupressable urge she had felt to rush to his side to take care of him the second she realized he was sick. It was probably encouraged on by the fact that she hadn't seen him for a month and was missing him dearly- so she'd made something up to her colleagues about an issue with her temporary replacement at Konoha's museum and hopped on the soonest flight back home.)

Neji had been sleeping for almost half an hour against her, and she'd since switched to watching one of her favorite K-dramas as she gave him a soft head rub. She knew he'd had a headache- there was tension in the corners of his eyes and his jaw had been clenched as he did his best to ignore it- but it seemed to have abated after his nap.

That didn't stop her from alternating between stroking his temples and massaging at his neck muscles with her thumb while he slept.

She ducked her head again and pressed her lips to the barely-there wrinkles lining the sides of his eyes, lingering there for a while before pulling away just a little and pressing another kiss to his hairline.

Neji stirred slightly at the contact, rolling a little on his side and in the process moving his head from the right side of her collarbone to more aligned in the center.

Really, it was prime head-kissing position, so Tenten immediately put three more kisses along the part of his hair. (She could tell that he had showered before she arrived- at least if the pleasant scent of his shampoo was any indication.) After a moment, she raised the leg that Neji was no longer laying on and bent it so it was behind his back and he was half-pressed against it, then wrapped both her arms around Neji's torso so she was full-on cuddling him.

(It also inadvertently pushed her cleavage together and now Neji was _definitely_ using her boobs as his pillow, but whatever.)

She watched her K-drama for a few more minutes, dropping kisses to the crown of Neji's head in between her incredulous gasping. (Yes, she'd seen this particular one before, but it got her every time.)

Her episode was coming to a close- on a cliffhanger, of course- when Neji stirred against her. She watched his profile as his eyes fluttered open and he slowly woke up, then suddenly frowned and made to sit up.

Confused, she let him break through her arms and sit up with surprising swiftness considering how sick he was, jerking his head around to look at her.

 _Had she pissed him off somehow with overly kiss-filled cuddling?_ "Neji?"

He stared at her for a few seconds, no expression whatsoever on his face, before he muttered, "Tenten," and slumped back against her. He grabbed her hand in front of him and twined their fingers together as if hadn't just woken up from a nap and gone temporarily murderous.

Tenten stared down at his head, incredulous. "Excuse you, what was that all about?"

He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "I woke up after four months of my fiancee being gone pressed against someone's breasts in our apartment."

She gaped down at him. "What, you forgot it was me?"

"I suppose so. Very relieving to see you here," he muttered, then burrowed his head a little further into said breasts.

Tenten squeaked in startlement. It was very unlike him to be so… _fond_ of her attributes in such a obvious manner.

He continued nuzzling against her, and his face dipped ever so slightly into the prominent cleavage exposed by her tank top. It proved to be too much for her, and she shoved him out with a slightly nervous giggle. "OH-kayyyy, get out of there."

"You drive a hard bargain," Neji sat up and moved to sit next to her, draping his arm over her shoulders and guiding her in close to kiss her forehead.

"Are you even up for sex?" She asked him curiously, snuggling into the warm skin on his neck and playing with the fingers on his free hand.

"Probably nothing complicated," he admitted. Abruptly he caught her hand in his and held it up a little higher, slowly rotating her wrist so her ring caught the low light and shone. He considered it for a moment before twining their fingers back together so their rings met with a little _clink_.

"But if you wear some of that new lingerie, I might be able to summon up some more energy," he continued. Tenten flushed crimson.

* * *

By Friday night, Neji was feeling much better, so Tenten didn't feel guilty about getting together with Ino, Sakura and Hinata for a "I'm here for one weekend only let's go tear it up" night out.

If her texts from the end of the evening were any indication, she'd had a great time.

' _ **Heyyyyyy babyyyyy'**_

' _Hello Tenten.'_

' _ **hahahjjhh'**_

' _I take it girls' night is going well.'_

' _ **Omg yessssss sakra had a beer chugigng contest w some frat boys and she kickkd their asses'**_

' _Good for her.'_

' _ **Yheah omg neji guess what'**_

' _What?'_

' _ **you'll neverrr guess'**_

' _So just tell me.'_

' _ **Okokok fine r you ready?'**_

' _Yes.'_

' _ **I love you! 😘'**_

' _I could have guessed that.'_

" _ **UR SUPPOWSED TO SAY YOU LOVE ME TOOOO'**_

' _I love you too, dearest.'_

' _ **Ahahah i like it when yoiu call me thattttt'**_

' _Is that so.'_

' _ **Yeahaha but you onyl ever call me that when im annoiying youu and youree trying to'**_

' _ **whats the word'**_

' _ **Placate me.'**_

' _Do you want me to call you that more often?'_

' _ **Noooo i dont really mind i just like ut when you sya it.'**_

' _ **Also i liik it when you call me tenne'**_

' _ **tenne'**_

' _ **tennie'**_

' _I like it when you call me 'my love'.'_

' _ **AWWWWW nejiiiiiiii i lkke that you ARE nmy love! ❤️💗💖💘💞💝💓'**_

' _ **Ilove you neji'**_

' _I love you too, Tenten. Get back to your friends and tell Hinata not to drink too much wine because it makes her cry; I'll see you when Ino drops you off.'_

' _ **Yeah baby then we,ll have SEX!'**_

(And they did.)

* * *

Tenten groaned against the soft, pleasant-smelling fabric of Neji's sweater. "I don't wanna leave you agaaaaiin. Can't you just come with me as my carry-on?"

He kissed the part of her bangs. "I wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment."

"Damn, I guess that's the only fault in my logic." She kissed him briefly. "See you- when did we decide? Beginning of June?"

"Yes."

"Ugh. Okay, see you in stupid June, fiance."

"And on Skype every Friday. See you then, dearest."

She tittered. "Um, yeah. Love you, babe."

"I love you too. Have a nice flight and text me when you can."

One last kiss, and they parted ways.

* * *

The letters continued in Tenten's absence, arriving about once a week and always brightening Neji's day. Their contents varied- sometimes just random scribbled thoughts, sometimes anecdotes about her day, sometimes stories about work, about friends, about coworkers; sometimes pictures of artifacts and sometimes pictures of Tenten; sometimes risque and sometimes romantic.

Neji kept them all, carefully stowing them in a binder and organizing them by date received. Every so often he would page through it and read over some of them again. (Sometimes he had some sake to go with his reading. These nights often resulted in him calling Tenten and the two of them making sappy confessions to each other until one of them needed to go to bed.)

The end of Tenten's work-study abroad in July brought an end to the letters- but with Tenten settling back into life in Konoha, Neji didn't miss them.

They had a wedding to plan, after all.


End file.
